Sunday, November 11, 2012

The Battle of Franklin (part 2)

Tiring

The battle of Franklin, which happened quickly and ferociously, took place in three different places: the Carter House, the Carnton Plantation, and Fort Granger. Trench building took place as preparation for the battle commenced. Preparing for the fight, soldiers found it problematic. It started at 4 p.m. and ended at 9 p.m. That is a short battle. It was an ugly battle. The battlefield was very small. Even though the skirmish was short, it was an extremely bloodstained, littered-with-dead-body battlefield.

Fighting

became extremely brutal and inhumanly savage. Fighting brutally, men bayoneted, and clubbed to death in the Carter yard. Confederate soldiers were found bayoneted on the front steps of the Carter House. Clubbing, clawing, punching, stabbing, and choking, the soldiers turned out to be fighting for their lives. The smoke from the cannons and guns was so thick that the soldiers could not tell nor establish friend from foe. The battle was as ugly as a wildfire. Friends and women and children –mostly under 12 years- were protected but the cries of war rang out from above. One of the Carter children, nicknamed Tod6 and serving as an aid for General T.B. Smith on the battlefield, laid eyes on his home for the first time in three years. Severely wounded, Captain Tod Carter sadly died two days later in the Carter House. As the tragic fighting place, it became cold-bloodedly savage.

Unfortunately, the beautiful and large Carnton Plantation was builtnot longbefore the battle of Franklin began.7 What kind of part did the Carnton Plantation play? The Carnton Plantation played an important part in the battle of Franklin. At 4 p.m. on November 30, 1864, the Carnton Plantation witnessed the bloodiest of the battles in the Civil War. Resulting in a terrible war, it is believed and known to be the bloodiest five hours of the Civil War. As the combat commenced, it took place mainly in the dark. The Battle of Franklin was five hours long and 9,500 soldiers were confederate troops. Carnton is the largest battlefield and was eventually converted into a hospital for hundreds of wounded or dying confederates. Many soldiers died while fighting.8 Not long after the Carnton Plantation was built, which was in 1826, the battle of Franklin began.

Trench building

was as tiresome and energy taking as running that mile in presidential fitness.9 Building and digging with picks and shovels the men thought, "This is not easy to do." To give a scale, the seemingly bottomless trenches were six feet deep and twenty feet wide at minimum. Twelve feet was the maximum men with picks and shovels could dig and still throw dirt. That is a large trench. Loudly officers yelled, "Hurry men!" Listening to the officers the soldiers hurried and finished preparing for the battle. As the trench building finished, the soldiers, who were the ones who built the trenches, realized "trench building is not easy."

The Carter House and Carnton Plantation played major and significant parts in the battle of Franklin because they were the places that were used as battlefields. Fort Granger also had a major role in the battle. Digging many trenches, they seemed impossible, but unknowingly they were very possible. The trenches, which were six feet deep and twenty feet wide, were the minimum. The maximum was twelve feet, for the men who rigorously and tirelessly dug with picks and shovels. Digging was as tiring as staying up until midnight doing schoolwork.

Learn, Enjoy, and Bond

After the war ended, the Carnton Plantation, The Carter House, and Fort Granger became open to the public. Who died and how many? The Union ended up with 2,500 men with casualties. The confederates ended up with 7,000 counted as casualties. In the spring of 1886, the McGavock family donated two acres of the Carnton Plantation to the Confederate Cemetery for the 1,481 soldiers who sadly and unfortunately died as they paid their respects to the soldiers who fought in that five-hour battle. What happened to the Carter House? The Carter House ended up with 1,000 confederates and union bullet holes. The site covers about 15 acres. Fort Granger, which is now open, is there for all of the public to enjoy. Built by the men preparing for the battle of Franklin, the trenches are located at Fort Granger. Even though the trenches were ugly during the battle, they are the most beautiful and gorgeous trenches anyone could ever look at.

Families sadly lost loved ones.

Federals ended up with casualties of 2,500 men. Sadly, 189 soldiers resulted in being killed, 1,033 ended up wounded, 1,104 ended up captured, and 287 cavalry found and counted as casualties. Having many brave and tired men on the confederates had 1,750 killed, 3,800 wounded, and 702 captured –not including cavalry casualties. In the five-hour battle, there were more killed on the Confederate side, which was the Army of Tennessee10, than the two-day battle of Shiloh, or the seven-day Campaign in Virginia for the Federal Army. As the spring of 1886 began, the McGavock family11 donated two acres of the Carnton Plantation to the Confederate Cemetery for the 1,481 soldiers who sadly and tragically died. The Carter Family lost their son.